


You Don't Seem the Lying Kind

by Chef_Geekier



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Desperation, F/M, Family Feels, Gender Issues, Genderfluid Character, M/M, Minor Character Death, Misgendering for Safety, Other, Shitty childhoods, post-partum depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-04 02:14:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4122268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chef_Geekier/pseuds/Chef_Geekier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“This is your brother, Dori. His name is Nori. No matter what anyone says, he is your brother. You understand me? No one can know... it's not safe. He must be your brother.”</i>
</p><p>  <i>Dori nodded. He gently stroked Nori's head, and knew he'd never loved anyone as much as he loved his baby brother. No one would harm him as long as Dori was around.</i></p><p>  <i>And if his little brother didn't have the same type of body as Dori did... well, no one would be in a position to see that if he had any say in the matter.</i></p><p>When Lolli's second child is born with a female body, she fears for Nori's safety on the road and amongst the villages of Men. So she claims that she has two sons, not realising that she won't be around to explain to Nori as he grows up. Dori does his best, but having a sibling like Nori, with a dancer's grace and sticky fingers, was never going to be easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sons of Ri

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to contain a lot of gender exploration. It's not meant to offend anyone, I just wanted to explore the idea of a mother desperate to protect her daughter and doing the only thing she could think of. As a result, Nori grows up somewhat gender-fluid.
> 
> Quick note on ages: To get the human-equivalent age of the dwarves, divide by three. So at the start when Dori's fifteen, he's equivalent to a human five year old. I'm putting age of majority at fifty five (about eighteen), but most will start to be treated as an adult around fifty (about sixteen), which is the age of consent.
> 
> Also, I don't currently have a Hobbit beta. If someone would be willing, let me know! I'd love to have someone to bounce ideas off of and double check my writing.
> 
> ABOUT THE MISGENDERING AND GENDER FLUIDITY:  
> This is somewhat spoilery, but giving the info now in case of triggers.  
> Nori's body is female. If given the choice, Nori would be female. The choice is not given however, and Nori is raised being told they are male. The discovery that they are what most would consider female is not made in a safe/secure environment, and there will be issues surrounding that which I will warn for in that particular chapter.  
> For pronouns, when Nori is presenting as a male I'll use he/him. When Nori's unsure, I'll use they/them. Later on when Nori feels secure enough to present as female I'll use she/her. In general the pronouns will reflect whatever gender Nori thinks of themself as.  
> I don't consider their mother to be a bad person, she's just trying to protect her child in a shitty situation, and is suffering from slight post-partum depression as well. She has a lot of difficult decisions to make, and no one's perfect.
> 
> If there's something that could be handled better, please feel free to tell me. I'll always listen to constructive criticism.

 Dori was fifteen when the dragon came.

 Despite his young age, parts of that day – and the days that followed – were burned into his memory for the rest of his life. He remembered the fear, the chaos, the heat. He remembered clinging to his mother's hand as they ran, his father staying with the guards to try and help.

 He remembered the way his mother held herself when the news came, that his father's regiment had been destroyed by the dragon.

 He remembered days, weeks of walking, of hunger, of fear. His mother was always beside him, and he later realised that she may have laid down and grieved herself to death if he hadn't been there, a child that still desperately needed his mother.

 He later wondered if that may have been kinder than the fate she ended up with.

 Gradually things got better. They reached the Blue Mountains and settled in a tiny mining town. Lolli found work as a tinker, not much but enough to afford a bed in a shared house with several other widows. Dori was the only child, but there was always someone around to watch him. Lolli couldn't afford to send him to school, not any more, so the other dwarrowdams taught him what they could.

 For a while, a few years, things were okay. Then the town's main mine dried up, and Lolli found herself with less and less work.

 ~*~

 Lolli choked back her tears as she calmly packed her few belongings. The other widows had offered to cover for her until she could find more work, another job, but she knew how tight things were for all of them. They'd already shown her such kindness, she couldn't drain their already meagre funds. Especially when there was no guarantee that she'd find work.

 “No, Lami,” she shook her head. “There's a caravan heading to Tumunzahar tomorrow morning. We have enough coin to pay for passage, we'll be all right. This settlement...” She paused, not wanting to upset her friend, but knowing it was the truth. “There's not much time left for this place. We need to go the larger cities if we want to build a new life.”

 “You're right,” Lami sighed. “It was good while it lasted, though.”

 “Yes it was.” Lolli put her pack to one side and embraced Lami. “You've all been so good to us. I can't thank you enough.”

 “Oh rot,” Lami laughed. “It was a pleasure. Dori certainly brought joy to all of us. It was good to care for a little one again.” She turned and crouched down in front of Dori, who was practising his knots in the corner. “And you, be good for your Amad, you hear? Take care of her like the big strong dwarf you're becoming.”

 Dori smiled up at her. At twenty seven, he was convinced that he was almost a grown-up and perfectly able to protect his mother from anything that threatened her. Lolli shook her head fondly. Somehow he still had some of the innocence of childhood left. Somehow he hadn't been ruined by the long flight from Erebor or the years surviving on little more than scraps. She loved her little mithril-haired boy with all her heart.

 The next morning Lolli and Dori met up with the caravan. Lolli had managed to barter down the price of passage in return for handling any repairs for the merchants, and it was a generally friendly group. They treated her and Dori well, which was all she could ask for.

 If the way a certain guardsman smiled at her made her heart race and breath quicken... well, that was no one's business but her own.

 ~*~

 Tumunzahar was... different.

 For a start, it was an old Firebeard settlement, dating back to the first age. Lolli discovered that while she wasn't exactly looked down on for being a Longbeard, it was definitely harder to find respectable work than it should have been.

 After four days of staying at an inn she could barely afford, Lolli met the guard who had caught her eye on the journey and learned he had a small house he shared with his brother.

 She and Dori only returned to the inn to gather their things.

 ~*~

 “Ama?”

 “Yes, Dori?”

 “Do you love Kaffir?”

 “I... I love him well enough.”

 “More than Ada?”

 “No, sweetheart. Not more, just... differently.”

 “If you have a baby with Kaffir, will you love them more than me?”

 “Of course not! No matter what, I will always love you.”

 “But what if you run out of love?”

 “That's the beauty of love. Your heart grows bigger the more people you keep in it. The more you love, the more have love to spare.”

 “Oh.”

 “...”

 “...”

 “Do you want a little brother or sister, Dori?”

 “...Yes. One of each. Then we can take care of you.”

 Lolli laughed at her son's way of thinking. Truthfully it was too early to think of another child, Dori was barely thirty and she and Kaffir had only been together for two years... but she'd always wanted a large family. And Kaffir was a decent dwarf – he didn't try to take the place of Dori's father, while still treating the dwarfling as his own son. Kaffir and his brother Tofir had accepted them into their home and family, even if the rest of their family wasn't quite as eager to accept a widow with a child.

 Perhaps she should discuss it with him. Kaffir would make a wonderful father.

 ~*~

 Lolli and Dori watched as the armoured dwarves marched away. Kaffir and Tofir were going to Khazad-Dum to fight for King Thror, and Lolli was proud of him. If the quest was successful, they would be able to start a new life together. Kaffir had promised to marry her when he returned, whether triumphant or not, and Lolli could hardly wait. Dori was already helping her to gather material for wedding clothes.

 Two months later, Lolli discovered she was pregnant and was forced to stop working. With a roof over her head, she was able to take on enough mending and laundry jobs to cover food, and Dori managed to pick up some work as a runner. He wasn't the fastest, but he had the memory and vocabulary to recall verbal messages with precision. Things were tight, but they would be fine.

 Six months later, the news came.

 Khazad-Dum was lost. Thror was dead. Thrain was missing. The young prince Thorin had become king.

 Worst of all, Kaffir and Tofir were among those killed in the Battle of Azanulbizar.

 With no legal claim to Kaffir's family, Lolli and Dori were forced out of what had become their home with barely enough time to grab their belongings.

 Heavily pregnant and with no one to turn to, Lolli did what she'd always done before. She hugged Dori to her, and set off to find a new home.

 ~*~

 Nori was born on the side of the road, in the middle of the night, between Tumunzahar and one of the villages of Men. Dori helped his mother through a painful birth, unable to ease her cries or curses. The ordeal lasted hours, and later Dori was grateful that they didn't attract any wildlife.

 Finally, Dori helped to bring his young sibling to their mother's bosom to drink. The babe had Kaffir's hair, and Lolli's eyes.

 Tears still falling, Lolli gave them their true-name and face-name.

 “This is your brother, Dori. His name is Nori. No matter what anyone says, _he_ is your _brother_. You understand me? No one can know... it's not safe. He must be your brother.”

 Dori nodded. He gently stroked Nori's head, and knew he'd never loved anyone as much as he loved his baby brother. No one would harm him as long as Dori was around.

 And if his little brother didn't have the same type of body as Dori did... well, no one would be in a position to see that if he had any say in the matter.

 ~*~

 Things improved when they reached the village. Lolli was leaning heavily on Dori, barely able to walk, while he also carried the new babe. A woman took one look at them and hurried them to the local healer, over Lolli's protests.

 The healer Adrienne doubled as the midwife, and despite her lack of experience with dwarves she was more than familiar with childbirth. By the end of the day Lolli, Dori and Nori were all clean, fed and comfortable. Lolli watched Dori rocking his brother to sleep, before she turned to the healer.

 “I have no money to pay you. We... we have been travelling a long time.”

 “I gathered as much,” the old woman shrugged. “No one around here has much coin. We tend more towards a barter system. Do you have skills?”

 Lolli considered, wetting her lips.

 “I'm trained as a tinker. If you have anything that needs to be repaired... I know my way around a forge, and I can wash and mend clothes and leather armours. My son, Dori... he's too young to be apprenticed, but he's strong... knows his letters...”

 Adrienne nodded and patted Lolli's shoulder.

 “I'm sure we can work something out, find you a place here for a little while at least. Get some rest. It can keep until morning.”

 Lolli paused, knowing she needed to make something clear to the healer.

 “The babe... he is my son. It's dangerous enough for a grown woman on the road, but for a child... Please, tell people he is my son.”

 The healer watched her for several moments, before bowing her head.

 “I understand. I wish it were otherwise, that you were somewhere that a daughter could be safe. As far as anyone here will know, you have two sons.”

 “Thank you,” Lolli closed her eyes and allowed herself to slip towards slumber.

 ~*~

 Dori ignored his mother and the healer. Instead his focus was the tiny dwarfling in his arms. Nori had spent most of his time sleeping so far, but Dori was still reluctant to let him out of his sight.

 Carefully, so carefully, Dori lifted his baby brother and kissed the top of his head.

 “I love you, little brother. I promise I'll never leave you alone.”

 He prayed with all his might that he'd be able to keep that promise.

 ~*~

 As time passed, Lolli became something of a fixture in the village. She worked every day, for anyone who needed her help. It was enough to get food for her family, and she had bartered with the blacksmith to live in the small room behind the forge – the smith himself had just married and moved with his wife into a larger house on the edge of town. During the long hours she was away, out in the fields or in the forge, Dori took care of little Nori.

 Well, truth be told it was Adrienne who watched over the two young dwarrow, but Dori was adamant that he be the one to take care of his little brother. Everyone agreed that it was sweet, and he did seem to have a knack for anticipating the baby's needs. Dori would sit with the other children Adrienne watched over, Nori in a sling across his chest, learning needlework or helping the others to learn their letters. Dori learned quickly how to mix the enriched milk that the healer fed to all newborns in the village – a special mix of goat's milk and herbs to help keep the child healthy – and bottle-fed Nori whenever the babe was hungry.

 At night, Lolli was usually exhausted. She would scrape together a meagre meal for herself and Dori, feed Nori from her own milk, then sleep. By the time Nori was six months old, Dori had truly become his main caretaker. Lolli didn't know how to balance her work and her children any better, as much as she wished she could properly mother her newborn there just weren't enough hours in the day.

 ~*~

 As grateful as Lolli was to the people in the village, it wasn't home and never would be. While the nameless village with its scarce population was safe enough to stay in for a while, the fact remained that Lolli and her sons were the only dwarrow there. If she wanted to rebuild her life, she needed to go back to somewhere there were more dwarrow. So she started to put things aside, started to gather supplies. When Nori was a little older, better able to travel, then she'd take both her boys North to Gabilgothol – the Broadbeam clan had always had a reputation for being friendlier than the Firebeards.

 In the mean time, she continued to work – and Nori continued to grow in her absence.

 Lolli hadn't really acknowledged just how much she was missing until she came home one night to find Nori climbing the dresser. She'd been working when Nori first learned to flip himself over, when he first started to crawl, when he started pulling himself to stand. Now, she watched as he pulled each drawer out and climbed into it before pulling the next out. She felt her heart breaking as she saw that her child was growing almost without her input. He didn't need her breast milk any more, was eating foot that Dori mashed up for him, was learning to crawl and walk and probably talk without her input.

 They needed to leave. She needed to be somewhere better, somewhere she could be a proper mother to both her children. Dori was too young to be taking care of a baby all by himself, but he was doing it with no complaint.

 ~*~

 The people of the village understood, and when Lolli had finished helping with the harvest she was given enough supplies for the small family to get to Gabilgothol. She promised to keep in touch with Adrienne, to let everyone know that she was okay, and they were off again.

 Dori was a little sullen as they walked, carrying Nori in his sling and missing his friends, but Lolli knew it was inevitable. Dori's human friends had been growing far more rapidly than him, would be adults in just a few short years when Dori still had over two decades to his majority, they would have left him behind sooner or later. Better to leave now before the pain of realising that they would be old and withered when he was just reaching his prime.

 They walked for days, no one else on the roads. Nori was a quiet babe, well behaved as long as Dori was within reach, and sleeping between his brother and mother at night. Even so, he started to fuss as the days dragged on, the cold and the boredom taking their toll. Lolli never knew how to settle him, and grieved for the time she'd lost with her child. Instead it was Dori, still just a child himself, who was able to stave off the worst of the tempers and tears, and in her darkest moments Lolli resented him for it.

 She always felt guilty as soon as she realised it, for nothing about their life was Dori's fault, but she couldn't stop the feelings of uselessness whenever she realised that her youngest didn't recognise her as their mother.

 After a while, she started to wonder if maybe it would be best if she found someone else to take in her children, someone who could be a proper parent to them. Maybe... maybe she could find a childless couple who'd be willing?

 And then the guilt would set in again. What sort of mother would willingly give up their children?

 ~*~

 

 They were a little less than a day's walk from Gabilgothol when the howling started.

 The blood in Lolli's veins seemed to freeze. She remembered hearing howls like this on the long journey from Erebor, remembered the wargs who'd chased down the stragglers. Looking around, at the deserted road, Lolli made her decision and prayed that it was the right one.

 “Dori, head for the trees. You get there, you climb and you don't come down until you know it's safe. You keep your brother safe, you hear me?”

 “Yes Ama,” Dori nodded. He was pale and clearly frightened, but Lolli knew they were running out of time. She quickly brushed a kiss to his forehead, then to Nori's, and pushed them towards the tree line.

 Just as they reached it and Dori started to climb, Lolli saw them. Not wargs, but wolves were bad enough. She only had her sword, and had never been the greatest fighter, but to protect her children she'd do whatever it took.

 Lolli drew her sword and stood between the wolves and her children, and prayed to Mahal that He would protect the little ones.

 ~*~

 Dori clutched Nori to his chest with one arm and held the tree with the other, tears running down his face. The leaves obscured his vision, he couldn't see his mother any more. He couldn't hear her.

 He didn't know whether to be grateful or not.

 He wasn't sure how much time passed, huddled in the tree and praying for his mother, but the air felt cooler when Nori started to fuss.

 “Hush little brother,” Dori tried to calm him. “They can't hurt us if we stay hidden here. Please, Nori, please hush.”

 “Ama?” Nori asked, young voice high and teary.

 “Ama's... Ama's keeping us safe. We have to be quiet.”

 “Hush hush?”

 “Yes, sweetling. We need to hush.”

 With that Nori curled in again and began sucking on his thumb. Dori didn't have the heart to stop him.

 They kept waiting. Dori kept praying that soon their mother would come back, would appear at the base of the tree and call them down.

 It wasn't their mother who appeared though.

 The light was fading, and Dori wasn't sure how much longer he could keep them both steady. He'd dropped his pack at the base of the tree so he wouldn't be weighed down, but he was getting hungry. The only animal to investigate the pack had been a rabbit, surely it would be safe to climb down by now?

 Just as Dori was getting ready to move, to try and get a better view, he heard a voice calling out.

 “Dori? You out there, lad?”

 It wasn't his Ama. It was a male voice, one that he didn't recognise. He was torn on whether to answer or not, but then Nori patted his face.

 “Dori!”

 “Yes sweetling, I'm Dori.” He then raised his voice a little. “Hello? Who's there?”

 “Thank Mahal,” the voice sounded closer now. Dori shifted a little so he could look down easier, and saw a dwarf with a mane of light brown hair standing next to a large dwarf with a mohawk who looked barely past his majority. The shorter one was holding his Ama's pack, and Dori felt his gut clench.

 “Lad,” the strange dwarf called up, and Dori choked out a sob. “It's safe now. Come on down.”

 Dori obeyed, trying not to weep. Nori was still safe in his sling, and it didn't take long to reach the ground. The strangers both shifted uneasily, and Dori bowed his head.

 “Ama... Amad's gone, isn't she?”

 “Yes lad,” the shorter dwarf confirmed. “I'm Balin, and this is my brother Dwalin. We found your mother. She told us that she'd sent you into the trees with your brother.”

 Dori nodded and stroked Nori's hair. The babe was growing unsettled, not knowing what was wrong but clearly sensing Dori's distress.

 “We're heading to Gabilgothol. We'll see you safely home. Where's your father?”

 A laugh that bordered on a sob broke from Dori's throat before he could swallow it.

 “Erebor. Adad fell fighting the dragon. Nori's Adad fell fighting the orcs at Azanulbizar. We...” his voice failed him and he bowed his head, clutching his brother closer. Nori started to sniffle, upset and not knowing what to do. “We don't have anyone. Don't have a home.”

 A hand fell on his shoulder and Dori looked up, blinking away the tears. The younger dwarf squeezed, seemingly in sympathy. The older looked sad, and shouldered the pack.

 “Well then,” Balin seemed to decide on something, “we'll find you a place. There are plenty of dwarrow who'd be more than happy to take you in.”

 “And Nori,” Dori blurted out. “Nori stays with me. He's my brother, I have to take care of him.”

 “And Nori,” Balin nodded in agreement. “I promise, you won't be separated.”

 Dori nodded and fell into step with the strange dwarves. With nowhere else to go, he'd follow them for now. With any luck they'd keep their word and find somewhere he could take care of Nori.

 If not... well, if not, Dori had long grown used to moving on. He could run just as well with his brother strapped to his chest as with his mother at his side.


	2. Follow Me Through The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dori and Nori in Gabilgothol. Nori's association with thieving starts early. Very early.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to try to update once a week. Let's see if I can keep that up.
> 
> Brynjolf is stolen from Skyrim. I always thought it'd be interesting to have him and Nori be friends.

The dwarves who took him and Nori in were nice enough, Dori supposed, but they didn't understand. They kept trying to take Nori away, to feed or change him themselves. They didn't _understand_.

 “No,” Dori glared as he held Nori to his chest. “I take care of my brother. He's my responsibility.”

 “It's okay,” Martja tried to get closer again, and Dori half-turned to keep her and her husband both in view. “We won't take him away. We just want to help. Don't you want to go play with the other dwarflings? We'll watch Nori while you're gone.”

 “No,” Dori was adamant. “He might need me. He stays with me.”

 “Damn it, boy!”

 “Fjorr!”

 It was too late though – as soon as Fjorr had stepped towards Dori in anger, he turned and ran. He snatched up his pack on the way and leaped out of the window, putting as much distance between them and the failed placement as he could.

 Soon enough they were in a different part of the city and Dori slowed. Nori slowly relaxed from where he'd been gripping tightly to his brother and offered a small smile.

 “Kiss, Dori?”

 Dori smiled and brushed a kiss to Nori's hair before offering his own cheek. His little brother was always quick to offer a kiss or cuddle, thinking it was enough to fix anything.

 After finding an out of the way alcove, Dori stopped to take stock of their supplies. They didn't have much, just a few clothes and fewer coin, but they could easily have been in a worse position. Dori had gotten into a habit of pocketing extra food over the last few weeks while they travelled and stayed with adults, and it would serve them well now. There was enough long-lasting food to see them to their next stop, wherever that may be.

 After some consideration, Dori decided to stay in Gabilgothol. He didn't know where else they could go, and it wasn't as though anyone would know that he and Nori were orphans. Even if he did run into someone who'd known his parents – a little more likely here, where a lot of Erebor's refugees had settled – it was unlikely that they would recognise him.

 So instead of heading for the gates Dori adjusted his grip on Nori, shouldered his pack, and headed for the lower markets. Perhaps he could find some work there.

 ~*~

 Dori ran through the market, Nori strapped to his back as usual. He'd managed to find some more work as a runner, not much but enough to buy a little food and scraps of cloth that he wove into clothing for Nori. At night they hid somewhere safe, moving every few days. It wasn't much of a life, but they were safe. Dori was growing stronger by the day as well, even with their limited food, and it wasn't really all that long before he'd be able to find legal work with a steady income. Less than a decade, if Gabilgothol had the same youth-work laws that Erebor had.

 Nori continued to grow as well, as dwarflings usually did, but he was still small for his age. Dori did what he could to keep the toddler healthy, and Nori rarely fussed, so he figured that his brother was just going to be a small dwarf. At least it meant he'd be able to carry Nori for a good while yet.

 When Dori arrived at his latest destination and relayed his message, the dwarrowdam rewarded him with a sweetroll. Gabilgothol wasn't the richest of cities by any stretch of the imagination, especially with the influx of dwarrow from Erebor, but there was still generally enough to go around. Pulling the roll apart Dori fed a few mouthfuls to Nori as they wandered off, waiting to be hailed again.

 “Hullo, lad!” A voice came, and Dori turned. He blinked in surprise when he recognised the older dwarf who'd brought them to the city.

 “Hullo Master Balin,” Dori bowed easily, used to keeping his balance with Nori attached. He readied himself though, prepared to run if Balin tried to take him in again.

 “I see you've found some work,” Balin continued, seeming oblivious to Dori's discomfort. “Good to see you're settling in. How are things with Martja and Fjorr?”

 “It... It didn't work out,” Dori decided to tell him. “We weren't a good match. But we're doing all right.”

 “Oh, I'm sorry,” Balin did look sympathetic. “You've found somewhere else though?” At Dori's nod, Balin beamed. “Excellent. You're good lads. And I find myself in need of a runner – do you know where the guard house for the upper market is?”

 “Of course,” Dori smiled. The guards were frequent customers of any runner who proved themselves reliable with verbal messages. After receiving the message for Dwalin – who it seemed had recently joined their ranks – Dori also received a few coin and ran off.

 During the conversation Nori had fallen asleep, and he remained sleeping during the run. When they reached the guardhouse though Nori jerked awake and stared around with his eyes wide. The female dwarrow on duty immediately came over to coo at him – a regular occurrence – and Dori smiled. He let one of the guards he was friendly with old his brother while he quickly found Dwalin and relayed his message.

 Dori was only out of the room for a few moments, but just as he was finishing the message he heard Nori scream.

 Before he even fully realised what the sound was, Dori was moving. He bolted back to where a different guard was holding Nori and looking almost scared. Dori snatched his brother back and held him close, rocking back and forth as he checked that there were no visible injuries. There was nothing he could see, and once he realised it was Dori holding him Nori seemed to calm down.

 “Dori, Dori,” Nori whimpered. Dori stroked his hair and rocked him some more.

 “Hush little one, Dori's here.”

 It wasn't until then that Dori looked back up at the guards – only to find that the one who'd been holding Nori was now up against the wall with one of Dwalin's axes at his throat.

 “Is the babe well?” Dwalin growled. Dori glanced around and saw that the other guards had all backed off, leaving a wide circle around Dwalin.

 “He seems fine, just scared,” Dori told him before glaring at the other guard. “What happened?”

 “I don't know!” The trapped guard started to babble as soon as Dwalin pulled the axe back enough for him to speak. “Ami had to go on duty, I've got nephews so I said I'd hold the lad, I swear I didn't try to hurt him!”

 “Dori,” Nori sniffled, patting his brother on the cheek. “No st'anger.”

 Relief flooded through Dori, making his knees shake a little. He patted Nori's head.

 “That's right Nori. No strangers without me around.” He offered the guards a sheepish smile. “It's all right, Mister Dwalin. Nori was just frightened because he didn't know who was holding him and he couldn't see me.”

 Dwalin seemed to glare harder at the trapped guard for a moment, before he stepped back and released him, smoothly reharnessing his axes.

 “Idjit,” he muttered before walking over. He briefly ran his hand over Nori's head – which the dwarfling allowed with a shaky smile – then headed back towards the change rooms with a final nod to Dori.

 “I'm sorry,” the guard stepped forwards still looking shaken. Dori couldn't really blame him, Dwalin was an intimidating dwarf when he wanted to be. “I didn't realise he'd panic so.”

 “I know,” Dori nodded. “It's just us, so he's not used to lots of strangers. We had to be careful on the road here.”

 “Understandable.” The dwarf held out his hand and Dori accepted it. Nori was glaring a little at him, which Dori just found adorable, and soon the other guards were all back to cooing over him.

 At least they got another few coppers out of it, and some leftover food. Guilty guards were always good for some scraps.

 ~*~

 Things got better when Dori started regularly running errands for the healer on Granite Way. She paid him well, and Dori had his suspicions that her clients weren't always the most upstanding dwarrow, but she never sent him anywhere dangerous. Instead he figured that the good pay was for his discretion – he never chattered about his errands to other runners or clients.

 

When winter started to fall and the nights grew even colder, Dori worried about how he'd keep taking care of Nori. They weren't going to be warm enough sleeping in abandoned houses and alleyways any more. He needed to find somewhere more secure where they would be safe and warm, and while he was earning coin regularly he was still too young to legally rent somewhere.

 

This was when he met Brynjolf.

 The red-haired dwarf was an occasional client of the healer, and had hired Dori himself a few times. He'd always been friendly and had never tried to touch Nori. Dori was certain that his activities were less than legal, though he didn't seem the violent type. Instead Dori had seen him selling things in the market place that seemed utterly ridiculous – lotions to make hair grow, cures for any ills, daggers that could pierce any armour. He was extremely charismatic, somehow convincing passers-by to give him their coin for the silly things he peddled.

 It happened one morning, a few days after the last time he'd run for Brynjolf. Dori was taking a break and helping Nori to walk along a stone wall, when a guard he didn't know came over.

 “You there, runner!”

 Dori tensed and picked Nori up, turning to face the guard. He was always apprehensive when hailed by someone new, and it had served him well so far.

 “Yes sir?” Politeness also helped.

 “We're looking for a dwarf, name of Brynjolf. He's a thief. Have you seen him?”

 Several options ran through Dori's head in the space of a heartbeat. Settling on confusion, he tilted his head to one side.

 “Could you describe him? I might have seen him and not known it.”

 The guard described Brynjolf's usual appearance and dress, and Dori nodded a little.

 “You mean the dwarf at the market? The one who sells all the elixirs and things?” With the amount of people who passed through the market, it would be more suspicious if he'd said that he'd never seen Brynjolf there. “I don't talk to him really, but I've seen him around.” He paused and pretended to think deeply. “I'm not sure if he was at the market this morning. After working a while you learn to not hear the spruiking. Sorry sir.”

 “No harm done,” the guard smiled. “Tell you what, you see him around you fetch the guard, all right?”

 “Yes sir,” Dori nodded, a fake smile on his face. “Anything to help, sir.”

 The guard walked away, and Dori muttered 'git' under his breath. When he turned around though, he flinched in surprise – Brynjolf was now right in front of him. He didn't look angry though.

 “Well done lad,” Brynjolf smiled at him. “I knew there was something I liked about you. You gave enough to satisfy him without actually telling him anything.”

 Dori shifted uneasily, grip on Nori tightening. The toddler didn't complain, though he was smiling up at Brynjolf.

 “You've been good to us,” Dori explained. “I don't want trouble from anyone. Best to not draw attention to anything.”

 “Exactly,” Brynjolf agreed. “Now, I've seen you and the babe huddled together at night a few times. That can't be good for either of you. I know somewhere you can both stay, nice and sheltered and warm, where the guard won't tell you to move on.”

 Dori looked down at Nori, then up at Brynjolf again.

 “What would we have to do?”

 “Nothing much,” the older dwarf smiled. “Just... keep an eye on things for me. The house belongs to a friend of mine who's currently in jail, and we need someone clean to watch it. Someone not tied to anything else.”

 A small shiver went through Nori, and Dori was nodding before he'd really thought about it. A roof over their heads would mean warmth, would mean he could take care of Nori better.

 “All right. Where is it?”

 “Just follow me, lad.”

 ~*~

 The house Brynjolf lead them to was small but sturdy. There were no cracks or holes in the walls, and the doors and shutters were all solid. There were only two rooms, kitchen and sleeping, but it was luxury after sleeping on the street for so long.

 “It's a little shabby,” Brynjolf explained as he showed Dori around, “but that's why we need someone staying here. You keep it reasonably clean and tidy, and you won't have to pay rent. Sound fair?”

 “Yes,” Dori nodded. “I can do that.”

 With that, Dori took the keys from Brynjolf and entered service with the Theives Guild.

**Author's Note:**

> About the places: Tumunzahar and Gabilgothol are Dwarven settlements in the Blue Mountains that were destroyed in the First Age. I'm gonna ignore that though, and say they're still standing. That's where a lot of Erebor's refugees ended up.
> 
> In the official timeline, it took longer for Thror to attempt to reclaim Moria (only about twenty years longer though). In this, he basically waited until everyone had gathered in the Blue Mountains, then rallied his forces and went for it.


End file.
